All posts tagged ‘recipes’

If you’re like my family, you’ve probably got cabinets and a refrigerator door full of little jars, cans, bottles and boxes. It’s not the stuff you make meals out of, just the things you throw on top or grab for a snack. But have you ever stopped to think what goes into those processed seasonings and flavorings? Or consider that, before our food came from factories, mayonnaise was something you made yourself, not a foreign substance from a jar?

GeekMom’s Kris Bordessa, guru of DIY, and the force behind the Attainable Sustainable blog and Facebook page, has written an ebook that tells you how to make fresh, healthy versions of foods you probably never thought of making yourself.

What I like best about the book is that it’s not intimidating. As in Attainable Sustainable, Kris helps the reader take baby steps towards substituting homemade for storebought. There’s some explanation of why you don’t want to eat genetically modified ingredients, but this isn’t a political tract, it’s a beginner’s cookbook.

I wanted to test out one recipe for this review, but I skipped the yummy-sounding mustard (it takes a few days to ferment) and ketchup (it’s not fresh tomato season here in upstate New York) and went for the no-box chocolate pudding. All it took was ingredients I already had on hand: milk, cocoa, corn starch, sugar.

My teen and I made this together — as we observed the change from liquid to “non-Newtonian fluid” as my son called it, I felt like we were doing science instead of cooking. The pudding came out nice and chocolate-y and smooth, although once it had cooled it had a little more bounce than boxed chocolate pudding.

But now that we’ve gotten our feet wet, we might get ambitious and try a more complicated recipe from another cookbook. And perhaps substitute some dark cocoa and raw sugar. The nice thing about Off the Shelfis that its bare-bones recipes are something you can whip up on a whim. And once you’ve tried it, you’ll have the confidence to keep tinkering until you get it just the way you like it.

Things were a little stressful last week. And one morning, when I had to run out of the house to drive the teen to a class and do some urgent errands with no time to grab breakfast, I started to have this thought.

What I need right now is some cinnamon toast.

It’s funny what sticks with us as our personal choice for comfort food. As a kid, I probably only had cinnamon toast a couple of times. But I clearly remember how perfectly my mom’s old scalloped spoon distributed the sugar and spice mixture.

At some point I seem to have acquired my mom’s scalloped spoon (hope you weren’t looking for it!), and when I’d finished the morning’s running around, before I turned on my computer to check my email or do anything else to dive back into my crazy day, I took a few minutes and made myself some sweet, delicious cinnamon toast and hot, milky coffee.

If you’ve never had it, it’s simple. Here’s all you have to do:

In a toaster over (or actual oven, if you haven’t got one), lightly toast some bread — I prefer soft whole wheat to the all-white Wonder Bread of my youth.

Spread a thick, even layer of butter on the toast, letting it melt just a bit.

Mix up sugar and cinnamon in a 1:1 ratio — any extra can be stored in an air-tight container and kept in the cabinet for emergencies.

Take a soup-sized spoon (scalloped, if you’ve got it), and shake a nice thick layer of the sugar/cinnamon mixture onto the buttery surface of the toast.

Pop back into the toaster for another couple minutes, until the sugar gets a nice crispy texture.

I’ve been told that putting the toast on a dish and pouring hot milk over it adds even more to the experience. I’ll have to try it sometime.

I find myself baking in earnest as the weather turns cold each fall. It warms my home and fills my kitchen with wonderful smells that seem to keep the chill away. There’s also nothing quite like fresh-baked muffins on a cold day or first thing in the morning. Although there are old standards I make every year, I’m always looking for tasty new recipes. Moufflet: More Than 100 Gourmet Muffin Recipes That Rise to Any Occasion provides a selection that will keep me happily baking until spring.

If you’re wondering about the title like I was, it’s simply a French word for muffin, and simple is a great way to describe these recipes. They offer a huge variety, from sweet to savory, but none are overly complicated. These are muffins, not main courses, so they are by their very nature simple. What this book offers are combinations of flavors and ingredients that are unique and new.

It’s divided into three sections, beginning with “Sweet Escapes,” which features recipes like Pistachio Rose Water, Double Shot Espresso, Cranberry Orange Streusel and Peppermint White Chocolate Muffins. The recipes are clearly written and easy to follow so even a novice baker will be able to produce a fantastic treat.

The second section is “Savory Sensations” and focuses on recipes that are perfect as a side at meals, especially brunch. Goat Cheese and Leek, Cheesy Shrimp, and Pepper Jack Chorizo are just a few of the savory muffins you’ll be able to create.

The third section, “To Top It Off,” showcases a wonderful variety of finishing touches. There are butters like Whipped Honey Lavender, Smoky Cayenne and Salted Carmel and cheese spreads like Blue Cheese Walnut and Jalapeño Cheddar. Lastly, there are toppings like Butterscotch Glaze, Peanut Butter Drizzle and Cinnamon Pecan Streusel that will have your mouth watering.

This week marks Tim Burton’s return to stop-motion animation, with Frankenweenie. In honor of the October 5 release, Disney has scared up a few delicious treats to go with your weekend movie festivities.

Frankenweenie is based on the director’s 1984 live-action short about boy named Victor who loses his beloved dog Sparky — temporarily, anyway. Thanks to the power of science (!), Victor brings his best friend back to life, making him almost as good as new. The original short is very cool and this remake seems to capture the creepy spirit. In other words, it fits very well in with the rest of Burton’s big-screen creations.

To get pumped up for this week’s premiere, my 6-year-old son and I decided to test out three of the treat ideas that Disney sent along, courtesy of Spoonful.com. Each one is insanely easy to make, which is perfect if you plan to have a house full of little goblins this Halloween. Let’s take a closer peek at these ghastly goodies.

Mix all the ingredients together and roll into one-inch balls. Flatten the balls onto ungreased baking pans (thickness of pizza dough) and prick each with a fork. Bake 8-10 min (turning over once.) After all the hardtack is baked try some! Then pile them on one baking sheet, and return them to the oven. TURN OFF THE OVEN and leave them there for at least five hours. This will give you the full experience…say “arrr” while trying to bite one. Can ye handle it?!

There won’t be much fresh food on our voyage so what be roundin’ out our feast? Get out yer pickled everything! But ye can’t eat anything with white vinegar, ye landlubber. Here’s a way to make yer own stuff with lacto-fermentation, the old-fashioned way of picklin’. Although I can’t say I’ve tried ‘em yet, here’s some Microwave Pork Rinds we might hanker for on the months ahead (when things get truly desperate.)

And the most important of all- drink! Lucky fer you, ye cod-face gallows monkey, rum is naturally gluten-free! Any flavorings be suspect, but Captain Morgan Rum Original Spiced has promised to be safe for all yellow-bellied, scum-sucking globs of spit on me crew.

And since ye can’t be drunk while on watch, here’s a safe one:Good Morning to You My Love
1/2 orange
1/2 lime
1/2 apple
1 dash orange juice
1 dash apple juice
1 dash whipping cream
ice
Mix all ingredients in a mixer with ice. Serve in a small bowl garnished with strawberries or grapes and a straw. (Stolen directly from talklikeapirate.com)

Depending on which side of the pond you call home, you’re either just days away from Season Three of Downton Abbey or you’ve got to wait until January. I am in the latter group and take consolation in having The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook so I can at least eat like the Crawleys while I await their return.

There is no way I will ever cook a seven course meal for ten people, but I can definitely manage a course or two from those included in this cookbook. That said, the first seven chapters are each devoted to a different course so if you’re feeling ambitious, then you can channel your inner Mrs. Patmore and cook a veritable feast.

The recipes represent foods that would have been popular at the time. These aren’t common, everyday recipes. Instead you have things like Saxe-Coburg Soup, Filet Mignon with Foie Gras and Truffle Sauce, and Pommes de Terre Sarladaise.

Don’t let the fancy names intimidate you. These are still recipes that you’ll be able to manage thanks to well-written directions with plenty of details about each step of the process. Each recipe also includes a paragraph that gives it context within the Downton Abbey world to explain its inclusion in the book.

I was very happy to see there is a chapter devoted to tea time. It includes recipes for classics like cucumber sandwiches and scones with clotted cream as well as some more directly inspired by the show. You can try Mrs. Patmore’s Madeira Pound Cake or Anna Bates’s Chocolate Crumpets.

For those times when you’re looking to mingle with the staff, there’s a chapter for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as the servants would have enjoyed. These recipes are far less fancy and include less expensive ingredients yet still manage to reflect the tastes of the time.

Get your copy of The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook ($21.95) now and by the time the series returns in January you’ll be able to host a premiere party that would impress even the Dowager Countess of Grantham.

Okay, so technically this is “drink like a geek”–and, right off the bat, let’s make it clear this is not a recipe for the kiddos (though you can certainly omit the alcohol, and you’d be good to go). In our house, we’re always looking for geeky adult beverages. I prefer things bourbon- and whiskey-based, but my husband Michael discovered this delicious concoction that’s quite good, and uses vodka. Its name? The Moscow Mule.

The drink itself dates back to 1941, when it was invented by “Jack” Morgan, who was President of Cock ‘n’ Bull Products (you can’t make this stuff up) and, not surprisingly, a producer of ginger beer. He and two others (including Rudolph Kunett, president of the Pierre Smirnoff, Heublein’s vodka division), in his words as quoted in the New York Herald Tribune, were “quaffing a slug, nibbling an hors d’oeuvre and shoving toward inventive genius.” The drink was a sensation, and was particularly popular among Hollywood stars and Hollywood would-be stars.

As summer comes to a close, the hot weather and humid temperatures mean that basil goes crazy. We grew ours from seed this year, and what started out as little tiny sprigs of fragrant smelling leaves are now threatening to take over the entire herb pot. Here in North Carolina, the weather is ideal. And while I won’t go all Isabella and her pot of basil on you, I will say that basil happens to be one of my favorite herbs in the world. I adore it. And the best way to keep basil tasty for a while, I’ve found, is pesto. If you can make a jar of pesto, you’ve got concentrated flavor and dozens of options.

So in lieu of a detailed recipe, I give you five recipe boosters and some fun facts about basil.

Whatever pesto recipe you use, it’s typically a combination of basil, oil, garlic, cheese (like Romano or Parmesan) and salt and pepper to taste. I like Jamie Oliver’s recipe but I use walnuts instead of pinoli (pine nuts) nuts because they’re much cheaper (I also adhere to his school of measurement–you know, “a handful” being my language).

This week we’ve got a comprehensive collection of recipes from our own Kris Bordessa, excerpted from her very cool book, Great Medieval Projects You Can Build Yourself. So you don’t have time or energy or the extra cash to get to a Renaissance Faire this year? Why not make our own at home? The book is written for the 9-12 set, but anyone can benefit from the factoids below, as well as indulge in the historical flavors!

A Medieval Feast

A medieval feast was a grand event. Feasts celebrated special events or honored guests visiting the castle. The food in itself was entertainment and often the castle cooks presented elaborately decorated platters of food. For instance, the cook might serve a roasted peacock that that had its grand tail feathers put back in place, making for quite an impressive dish.

You might think the best dishes and silverware would be used at a feast, but medieval era people didn’t use the same kinds of tableware that we do today. Instead of plates, diners each used what was called a trencher — a piece of stale bread. Diners chose food from a common platter using their fingers, and placed their morsels on their trencher. The only utensil that people used at a meal was a knife. This was important for cutting meat. People used their fingers for all other eating. Diners frowned upon people who licked their fingers while sharing a plate with others — talk about bad manners! Between courses, servants brought bowls of water so that diners could clean their hands.

Make Your Own Trencher

You’ll need:

a round loaf of French bread

a sharp knife

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Slice the bread horizontally into ½ inch thick pieces.
3. Place the bread pieces directly onto the wire racks in your oven. Bake for about half an hour. If the bread is crispy, like toast, it’s done. If not, continue baking, making sure to check it every ten minutes.
4. When the bread is done, use these trenchers instead of plates at your medieval feast (you may want to use a tablecloth!) Continue Reading “Eat Like a Geek: A Medieval Feast” »

If you grew up in the 80s like I did, there’s a high probability that you came across Julia Child the same way: through PBS. The ebullient and impressive host of a variety of programs, she had a way with food–a casual, almost childlike enthusiasm for great ingredients and everything French.

Our favorite fictional worlds are often fantastically full of fantasy flavors–some better than others. It’s hard to resist creating Earthly versions of them, so why fight it? Here are fourteen foods from fiction and ways to make them yourself, along with three you can find without much invention.

Lembas

Of the myriad Middle Earth munchies, lembas seems to be the most popular to recreate. (Maybe because “cram” is a less appealing name, especially when eating it is described as “a chewing exercise.”) Lembas, on the other hand, has a description similar to hard tack, a cracker sort of thing we don’t see much of in the US. Here’s a lembas recipe based on what we know about it. At the end of the experiment, you will be baked andthentherewillbe cake.

Fruity Oaty Bars

I wouldn’t fault you for printing Fruity Oaty Bar wrappers and putting them on your Clif bars. That seems reasonable, and less likely to have any ill effects from consuming Blue Sun products. But if you want to make your own, they tell us right there in the name that they likely contain something resembling fruit, something resembling oats, and are bar-shaped. How convenient! Even more convenient–a recipe using oats and the fruit puree of your choice. I invited your best friend, the Companion Cube. Of course, he couldn’t come because you murdered him.

Cake

Cake and grief counseling will be available at the conclusion of the post. This is your fault. I’m going to kill you. And all the cake is gone. You don’t even care, do you?

Gagh

Leave it to the Klingons to name a delicacy with the sound a human is likely to make when eating it. Short of actually eating live worms (which I really don’t recommend, despite enjoying How to Eat Fried Worms), you can recreate the look with Jell-o Blood Worms. If your tongue is brave, try this recipe made with ginger and cocoa. And if you’re really yearning for the sensation, I think you could get close with casu marzu.Momentum, a function of mass and velocity, is conserved between portals. In layman’s terms, speedy thing goes in, speedy thing comes out.

Spoo

Really? Really? You want to eat spoo? Babylon 5 fans are so weird. (I love you anyway.) How about some gnocchi spoo? It’s not worms, but we covered that particular taste with the gagh. Did you know you can donate one or all of your vital organs to the Aperture Science Self Esteem Fund for Girls? It’s true!

Food cubes

Dear Future,

Nutrition is important, but food is supposed to look good as well as taste good. Please remember this.

Love,
The present

I’m all about space travel, but you won’t see me spending long on any planet that thinks food cubes are a good idea. Claudia Black, who played Aeryn Sun on Farscape, says they used “hawanalis.” A poster on the RPF suggests that what she really meant was haw flake candy.That thing you burnt up isn’t important to me. It’s the Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit; it makes shoes for orphans. Nice job breaking it, hero.

Popplers

The problems with popplers are plentiful, and not limited to MEAT protests. There’s the lack of transportation to Omicron Persei 8, the difficulty of eating animated food, and the fact that I can’t stop thinking about my fond 80s feelings for Popples. Searching for imitation recipes of this Futurama universe delicacy will yield you everything from seafood bites to hush puppies to chicken nuggets, so choose your favorite deep-fried, ball-shaped treat and sing along. You can pick ‘em, you can lick ‘em, you can chew ‘em, you can stick ‘em. If you promise not to sue us, you can shove one up your nose!” The Enrichment Center is required to remind you that the Weighted Companion Cube cannot talk. In the event that it does, ignore its advice.

Ice planets

Your food is problematic? Let us solve your problem! Make your own Firefly ice planets to torture your kids all afternoon. Anyway, this cake is great. It’s so delicious and moist. Look at me still talking when there’s science to do.

I like to make a theme out of most events, it helps me get into the spirit of things. If my natural inclination is to sit back, I tend to go a little overboard trying to build enthusiasm for something. This has only increased since having children, as I want the boys to enjoy things even if they aren’t my cup of tea. When we watched the first Baseball Classic back in 2009, we each picked teams, wore buttons, and ate food associated with the countries in each game.

If like me you are having trouble getting into an Olympic groove this time around, or if you are utterly obsessed with the games, consider giving some of these ideas a try with your family.

2. Play the match game with little ones. Simply hide equal portions under small containers on a tray. This makes healthy snacks and new foods a treat, not an obligation.

3. Make frozen yogurt dots. Spoon (or pipe from a plastic bag with a corner cut open) your favorite flavored yogurt in small dots on a baking sheet. Freeze for about an hour, then pop off the dots. Cold deliciousness.

5. Have a watermelon speed spitting contest. “Outside, I said outside!”

6. Keep fruits like bananas, mangoes, pineapple, strawberries, and peaches in separate containers in the freezer. On different days let each child take a turn concocting a smoothie for the family by blending his or her choice of fruit with juice and/or yogurt in the blender. Serve in tiny cups for taste testing. Encourage the creator to come up with a name for the frozen delight, like Toby’s Tooth Freeze or Sadie’s Strawberry Slush. Continue Reading “Summer Food: 30 Fun Ideas For Your Geeklets” »

I spent much time last summer attempting to perfect the popsicle. I purchased plastic containers at my local grocery store and tried to create the perfect, cheap, summer sucker for my son. I tried yoghurt blends, real fruit, juice, Kool-Aid, and anything else I could think of to freeze. Reluctant to use spray to line the plastic, I got very mixed, uneven results. My son wasn’t especially keen on anything I offered him, and it was a very messy, sticky experiment and so back to the pre-made we went.

This summer, I got it right. This summer is the summer of the Zoku. It sounds like something from a science fiction novel, it even looks the part, but the Zoku is an innovative piece of technology that has greatly added to our summertime fun. Without the use of electricity, the Zoku pop maker will freeze a popsicle in 7-9 minutes once you have simply frozen the base for 24 hours beforehand. Try as I might, I could not discover what this wonder product was that freezes liquid so easily. The closest the Zoku website comes to revealing the contents are by saying that the “liquid refrigerant” is non-toxic, they are also keen to point out that the device is BPA free. Zoku is very tight lipped about its patent information, their PR company will only reveal that it uses patented heat exchanger technology that is combined with a proprietary non-toxic refrigerant.

It’s no joke — HBO’s Game of Thrones is back on April 1. I’m a new fan to the series, but I’ve enjoyed reading the first two novels and watching the first season of the show. Season 2 begins the story of the second novel, A Clash of Kings, and brings new characters like the formidable Stannis Baratheon and the sorceress Melisandre, who I’m looking forward to seeing the most.

We are hosting a Game of Thrones dinner party for the premiere. This guide has been invaluable for the planning. My mouth watered while I reading the Honeyed Chicken recipe; although my cooking skills are no where near expert, I’m willing to give some of the “Simple and Hearty” recipes a try.

Just a few more days until the movie premiere for The Hunger Games. If you have read the novels, you know how important food, specifically bread, is to the characters. The country they live in is called Panem, Peeta is a baker, etc. If you haven’t read the novels, run, yes run, to your nearest bookstore or Kindle and get them.

And what better way to celebrate the movie’s release then to make your own mockingjay bread? It may take some patience with an x-acto knife, but the end result is worth it. May the odds be ever in your favor.

Oh, how I remember the difficulty of making decent meals when my kids were babies. And when I did manage to get dinner on the table, one forkful into it the baby would decide it was time for him to eat. Sigh.

If only I’d had Debbie Koenig’s Parents Need To Eat Too: Nap-Friendly Recipes, One-Handed Meals, and Time-Saving Kitchen Tricks for New Parents. As the subtitle suggests, the book is filled with healthy, easy-to-make recipes that just might prevent you from falling back on takeout or boxed meals every night. With chapters on stocking the pantry, big batch cooking, slow cooker recipes, and feeding the family well when you work outside the home, Debbie covers all the bases. I particularly like the “make baby food” sidebar that comes with each recipe, detailing how to make the meal suitable for babies who have moved on to solid foods.

Debbie has been kind enough to share a few recipes from Parents Need To Eat Too.

We like trying out new recipes in our house. My husband loves to cook and I love to bake, so we are always trying new things out. I’m also a big fan of books and have been a member of several book clubs in the past. The Book Club Cookbook by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp, which is newly revised and updated, combines these two passions very well.

The Book Club Cookbook has recipes that work with or are actually featured in dozens of popular books. These books all have in common that they are often used as book club sections. In addition to the recipes, there is a brief synopsis of each book as well as little stories about different book clubs who used these recipes to make goodies for their meetings.

Since it is a cookbook, my husband and I decided to each make one recipe. He picked the Swedish Meatballs from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The recipe was easy to follow and he was very pleased with how they turned out.

Irish Brown Soda Bread (Image: Mandy Horetski)

I picked Irish Brown Soda Bread from Angela’s Ashes.It was very easy to make because I just threw all of the ingredients into my Kitchenaid mixer. I did have to knead the bread a little and put it on a cookie sheet to bake. It was a great dipping bread for soup or veggie dip.

My husband and I have had a great time reading the anecdotes in this book as well as looking for new recipes to try out. I would recommend The Book Club Cookbook to anyone who is interested is trying out some recipes that are inspired by popular books.

After a long winter’s day, ever wish you could just cozy up in the Burrow and have Molly Weasley whip you up a little roast chicken with mashed potatoes? Or feast in the Great Hall on some lamb chops? Now you can… with a bit of Muggle work.

When I was sent The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook for review, I thought it was going to be little more than some fun gimmickry. But, on thumbing through the pages, there are some delectable-sounding treats, including a lot of stick-to-your-ribs winter fare, the kind I usually have to head to a pub to get.

Sure, the gimmickry comes first, but that’s what makes it great fun for fans. It appears that author Dinah Bucholz has scoured the seven books for any mere mention of food, and then paired that nugget with a recipe. Mr. Weasley mentions to Kingsley Shacklebolt that Molly’s making meatballs for dinner? Accio meatballs! Here’s a recipe for Molly’s meatballs with onion sauce. Like Harry, want a taste of treacle tart while Ron and Hermione argue? Or a taste of the vol-au-vents from Bill and Fleur’s wedding? Early and often we’re warned that this book is unofficial. JK Rowling has nothing to do with it. Please don’t sue them! However, this unofficial book reads as wonderfully delicious fan fiction.

But does it work as a cookbook? The organizing principle not only gives the book a structure that follows the arc of a Harry Potter book, it also encourages a wide range of recipes:

Chapter One: Good Food with Bad Relatives

Chapter Two: Delights Down the Alley

Chapter Three: Treats from the Train

Chapter Four: Recipes from a Giant and an Elf

Chapter Five: The Favorite Cook’s Dishes

Chapter Six: Breakfast Before Class

Chapter Seven: Lunch and Dinner in the Dining Hall

Chapter Eight: Desserts and Snacks at School

Chapter Nine: Holiday Fare

Chapter Ten: Treats in the Village

The recipes focus on British cuisine, and lacking any other British cookbooks I decided my first crack at the book would be something basic: shepherd’s pie (though as both the book and GeekMom Sarah would quickly point out, I actually made cottage pie because I only had ground beef on hand). Surely you’ll remember in Chamber of Secrets when Harry barely touched his shepherd’s pie because he was so dreading his detention with Professor Lockhart?

Harry and Ron slouched into the Great Hall in states of deepest gloom, Hermione behind them wearing a well-you-did-break-school-rules sort of expression. Harry didn’t enjoy his shepherd’s pie as much as he’d thought. Both he and Ron felt they’d got the worse deal.

Overall, the recipe was pretty easy, made with mostly staple ingredients. The timing of elements in the instructions could be clearer, but an experienced cook won’t have much trouble parsing these recipes. As for taste, it totally served it’s purpose as wintertime comfort food, but I already have a few things I’d do differently next time – definitely use lamb to make a proper shepherd’s pie, and spice it up a bit. I expect to start scribbling in the margins like the Half-Blood Prince.

It may not be the finest cookbook for British food out there, but it sure is fun cooking to these literary references. And if you have any plans to throw a Harry Potter theme party, this cookbook is a must-have.

We’re traveling with friends this weekend to a rented cottage in the Catskills where our only plans are to eat, drink, be merry, and run around in the woods. Tonight was our menu planning session where we had dueling iPads firing up suggestions.

My thoughts immediate turned to the grown-up time after the kids go to bed when yummy beverages should be imbibed, and I downloaded the Martha Stewart Cocktails app. As you would expect from Martha, the app is beautifully done with mouth-watering photography. It makes you really wish you could download a member of her staff as an in-app purchase to come mix these things.

Martha Stewart Cocktails app screenshot

The interface is luscious. It has the appeal of Pinterest – simply select the drink photo that interests you and go to the recipe. Once in the recipe view you can swipe through all of the different recipes. The app comes with recipes for twenty of Martha’s Classics, such as a vodka-mint gimlet, a frozen bloody mary, a caipirinha, a pineappple-gin kir, and an herbal lillet cooler. There are also five bar snack recipes like spiced walnuts and artichoke parmesan crostini. The recipes are easy to follow and most have easily accessed ingredients, though some use seasonal fruit and others have some obscure liqueurs that will surely have me on a scavenger hunt around Manhattan. Then I’ll just have to come home and make myself a Manhattan.

Martha Stewart Cocktails app screenshot

The app costs $2.99, and in-app you can download more recipe groups. I also downloaded Holiday Cocktails (winter fruit sangria, pear and cranberry bellini, spiced chocolate eggnog) and Cutting Edge Cocktails (vodka-dill martini, grape-elderflower fizz, purple basil mojito) for free. And preggo Geekmoms rejoice! You can also get 20 recipes for Mocktails, including a prickly-pear agua fresca, a honeydew granita spritzer, and cucumber limeade. Thirsty yet? For $0.99 each, you can also get Summer Coolers and Regional Favorites. I might need to pay the 99 cents to get Martha’s Manhattan recipe.

For the weekend we’re going to try the homemade eggnog, the winter fruit sangria, and the pear and cranberry Bellinis, but this app is making me want to try everything.